The Beginning of an Era
by midna03
Summary: Prologue to the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, set in the twilight realm. Midna's childhood was quite a boring one; she was given everything she could ever need by being the heir to the royal family. But one day Midna's life changed forever, when she was introduced to a strange boy named Zant.
1. Childhood

**Sup, Midna03 here! I've done something a little different, so I hope it turned out good. I don't know whether to continue the story or not, so for now it's a one shot :) Hope you enjoy; FYI the story is CLEAN for a change XD**

The twilight realm was a beautiful place. Those who lived in the light world would call it bleak, and would shy away from the darkness as though it was something to be feared. But those who lived in the twilight would regard it as a world of peace, which protected them from all the threats the light world posed. Clouds blocked out harsh light and replaced it with a warm, purple hue, and silence blanketed the entire world, leaving the realm in a muffled state of serenity.

Inside this peculiar world was a palace, where the royal family of the Twili lived and ruled over all others that dwell there. The majestic building stood tall, almost reaching up to the clouds of twilight, and spread wide across the land like a giant fortress that was ready for war. But there hadn't been a war ever since the Twili's great ancestors had first been banished from the light, and most believed it was unlikely that war would ever threaten their world.

Midna stared at the toys before her. She was the royal family's heir, destined to one day take after her parents and take her place on the throne. However, she had no duties while she was still a young child, so she didn't care much about her titles. The only thing she wanted was something new to do, as she looked silently at the vast array of objects before her in an effort to think of something to play. It wasn't like she had nothing- her room was a palace in itself. The decorative walls around her were littered with jewellery, magic books and every toy Midna could imagine. Yet she still felt like something was missing, and every day she found herself surrendering to boredom. Suddenly, Midna's large, ruby-red eyes widened when she heard footsteps pass outside her room. After waiting in anticipation for a few seconds, she sighed deeply when the footsteps faded. "Another boring day I suppose," Midna murmured, and she once again lowered her gaze. But as she looked blankly at the toys before her, her pointed ears perked up when she heard voices outside her room. Curious, Midna's brow furrowed as she tried to comprehend what was being said.

"This is a good idea, trust me."

The voice of her father, a strong leader and King of the Twili. Midna was automatically intrigued, but she discreetly made sounds to make it seem like she was busy playing and not eavesdropping. She smirked proudly at how sneaky she was.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want Midna hanging around a child like that," the voice of Midna's mother replied.

Midna's eyes widened. Hanging around? Was she going to have someone to play with? She continued to play with toys while concentrating intently. Midna placed one of her dolls on a plastic throne, and began to fiddle with another doll beside her.

"But his parents have been our friends for generations. Our kin should at least meet each other once. Do you want to break our friendship over something so small?"

There was a brief silence. Midna waited intensely for her mother's answer, slowly bringing the doll to the throne as she listened.

Midna heard a faint whisper, but apparently even her father wasn't able to hear as he asked for her to repeat herself. When Midna heard her mother's response, she froze in place.

"He's not…normal."

Midna swiped violently with the doll in her hand at the plastic throne, knocking the other doll off and making it fly across the room. Not normal?! What kind of excuse was that?! It shouldn't matter if someone is different…

Suddenly the door of Midna's bedroom opened, interrupting her thoughts as she quickly turned to look at who had entered. It was her parents, and Midna felt her heart begin to race.

"Midna, we have someone we'd like you to meet."

Midna felt nervous at what was to come as she was taken down the hallway, her parents silently walking alongside her so she was enclosed in-between them. All of a sudden her parents stopped, and Midna looked up to her mother in confusion. But she understood once her mother pointed to three people standing in the hallway, silhouetted by the darkness that cloaked them. Midna started to tremble as the outlined figures walked towards her, and noticed they were a mirror image of how she and her parents were standing. As the silhouettes came out of the shadows Midna saw a boy, looking the same age as she was, and judging by the similarities she noted the adults were his parents.

When the mysterious Twilis reached Midna and her parents, she was able to get a closer look at the strange boy. He was tall, unusually tall in comparison to herself, and had very long, skinny arms. His face was illuminated in the glow radiating from the magical walls, which gave him a very unnerving appearance. He had big, glowing gems for eyes, which were unblinking and a dulled shade of red. He had a very small mouth that contained no hint of a smile, and he was so still Midna thought he was paralysed with shock. He refused to stop looking into Midna's scarlet eyes, and this made her feel even more uneasy.

Midna didn't remove her gaze from the boy as the two adults slowly bowed down to her parents. She expected the boy to follow his parent's lead out of respect, but he didn't move a muscle. When Midna looked up confusedly to the adults opposite her she found they were blushing with embarrassment.

"I humbly apologise, I hope you can forgive such rudeness," the boy's father sighed, glaring with fury at the boy, who still refused to move. "He is mentally unstable and therefore doesn't-"

"It's quite alright," Midna's father replied with an uneasy smile.

Midna stared in awe at the boy's defiance, while those red orbs continued to pierce deep into Midna's eyes, as if looking into the depths of her soul. After a brief silence, a smile grew on Midna's face and she laughed cheerfully, much to her parent's surprise.

"You're weird!" she giggled cheekily, and the boy's eyes widened further. Happy to get a reaction, Midna gave the boy a friendly grin. "I like that."

Midna held out her hand to the boy. "I'm Midna, what's your name?"

The boy stayed silent and unmoving. Midna's parents looked concernedly at the adults opposite them, and they lowered their gazes in shame. A few seconds later they opened their mouths to say something, but were interrupted by a small but robotic voice.

"…Zant."

All of the adults looked down in shock, especially Zant's parents. He had never spoken before, and his parents feared he never would.

Midna's smile widened, and she took Zant's limp hand in hers, shaking it excitedly while he continued to be motionless. "It's nice to meet you!" she beamed enthusiastically.

Midna's attention was all on Zant, so she didn't see the silent glances that were exchanged by the two sets of parents. She was so ecstatic at the thought of having a playmate, she was almost hesitant to ask her next question in fear that her new friend would reject her offer.

"Umm, I have lots of toys, do you wanna play with me?" Midna asked as kindly as she could as she played with her hands nervously.

At the mention of this Zant's face appeared to brighten with subtle joy, and Midna's heart leaped when she saw a faint smile grow from his small lips. He kept his still composure, but he nodded slowly.

Midna immediately took Zant's hand in hers and raced eagerly to her room, the boy struggling to keep his footing as he was carried away. Midna was able to hear a faint gasp of shock from her parents until her and the Twili boy were out of ear shot.

"So your name's Zant? That's an unusual name!" Midna chatted, still dragging Zant behind her.

Despite moving at such a fast pace, Midna didn't hear any gasping or panting from the boy, nor a single remark to what she said. It was like he was detached from the world, oblivious to everyone around him.

Midna smiled to herself. "You don't talk much do ya?"

No reply.

"That's okay, I just know we'll have so much fun!"

As Zant ran down the corridor, his hand grasped tight by the strange yet sweet girl, he felt a warmth inside him that welcomed him into reality instead of shunning him away. It was a foreign yet friendly feeling, and for once it made Zant happy to be alive.


	2. Adolescence

**Hello, Midna03 here! I have decided to continue this story a little bit, so here's chapter 2. I hope you enjoy!**

Zant stared with concentration at the books on the table, reading intently while his eyes gleamed in the darkness. The only light in the room was from two Sol candles, one hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier, and another near the desk where Zant stood. The walls of the room Zant inhabited were pulsing with red energy, and the air was thick with magical fumes. The room was overflowing with Twili energy and could even be considered to be dangerous, but Zant continued to read like nothing was wrong.

A few years after Zant had met Midna, both his family and the royal family had fallen on very good terms. They had become such good friends that Midna's parents had offered to let them stay in the palace, and in exchange they would be servants of the highest rank. So here Zant was, now an adolescent, working as a servant for his best friend. When he complained that it was demeaning, he was told he should be thankful they had such a high standard of living. But Zant could see the obvious class difference and it sickened him. He could never hate Midna, but he was envious of her. Her room was enormous, crammed with jewels and treasures, while his was small and contained only what he needed.

After studying the books carefully, Zant placed his hands in front of his face so that there was a partial gap in between them. He then focussed all his energy into his hands, willing them to create something so that all his efforts weren't in vain. When he saw the red patterns on his hands glow he began to shake, hoping that he could keep his concentration a little longer. Suddenly he gasped when a ball made of pure energy appeared out of thin air in between his hands. It made a peculiar humming sound as it levitated, and had glowing patterns that matched the glow of Zant's eyes. Slowly Zant raised his arms, his eyes wide with surprise, and when he jerked his hands upward the ball rose in the air with a sharp, high pitched hum. Zant's lips spread into a smile, and he laughed in disbelief at what he had created.

"That's amazing!"

Zant turned around at the voice, and saw Midna standing in the doorway. He lowered his arms, and blinked slowly when he saw she was wearing an elegant dress, which glowed a serene shade of green and contrasted with the dark red room. As Midna had gotten older she had grown into a beautiful woman, and wherever she went she would always have a kind smile on her face, and a presence that would light up any room. While Zant envied the materialistic things she possessed, he also envied her effortless beauty, while he was used to people shying away from him like he had a disease.

"You are very talented with magic," Midna said, her caring eyes glistening in amazement at the peculiar sight.

Zant smiled at the compliment, and turned his head back to the glowing orb floating above him. "My family have always been skilled with magic," he replied proudly, his eyes fixed on the ball like he was hypnotised by its glow. "Going back to my great ancestors."

Midna smiled at Zant. He was such a gifted boy, his skills could even rival her own family's magic. The determination in his eyes; she had never seen anything like it.

Slowly, Zant's smile began to fade, as he continued to stare at the orb.

"Do you know of our origin, Midna?" Zant asked quietly.

At this Midna froze. She was thrown by the question, and unsure whether she should answer. In truth, her family didn't speak of how her ancestors came to be.

"Some say we used to live in the light. That we had great powers that rivalled any other light dweller. But because we were considered a threat, we were locked away."

Suddenly the magic ball Zant had conjured began to intensify, until it glowed a deep shade of red.

"…Like insects in a cage."

Midna began to get worried, she had never seen Zant this serious. Even though he was often quiet, Midna had always thought it was because he was told to be silent around her. But now he was letting his thoughts escape his mind, and even Midna didn't know what was going on in Zant's head.

"Zant, are you okay?" Midna spoke softly, but Zant ignored Midna's question and continued to speak.

"We were left to rot in the shadows, until we felt nothing. No hatred, no desire, nothing. And it's all the fault of an incompetent family, a family I was taught to trust."

Suddenly Zant balled his hands into fists, and the magical orb he created began to emit red, fiery sparks.

"They were weak."

Zant threw his fist to the side, and the orb flew across the room, blazing with fury. It collided with the bookshelf next to Zant, creating a wave of sparks that consumed the magic books and made the shelf crash to the floor, soon followed by the orb itself.

Midna began to tremble due to the loud, sudden crash. She had never been this scared of Zant, or what he was capable of doing. Zant's normally calm demeanour had melted away, and instead of speaking he was now shouting.

"Your ancestors Midna, they are the ones who've doomed us. Their powerless bloodline isn't fit to rule if they bow down to those in the light!"

Midna was too terrified to reply to Zant, and she found that she was rooted to the ground. Suddenly Zant's father, who had probably heard the commotion, stormed into the room without a word as if he already knew what was happening. He grabbed Zant's arm and dragged him out of the room, not even turning to look at Midna. Zant didn't struggle; he had already said all that he needed to say.

Midna was left alone in Zant's room, shocked by how fast things had spiralled down. She couldn't believe that such a vibrant soul could harbour such anger.

Zant's father dragged Zant down the hallway until they were out of earshot from anyone. Only then did he let go of Zant and cause him to stumble slightly.

"What is wrong with you? Have you no decency?" Zant's father hissed, his eyes alight with anger.

Zant didn't reply, and was once again mute in the presence of his father. Even though he had no voice, Zant's eyes were still glistening with a silent fury that made even his father shiver. Despite this, Zant's father still looked him in the eye with a mix of both anger and pleading.

"You do not speak of the royal family like that. If you do, you and our entire family will be branded as traitors. Our reputation will be ruined, and you will no longer be able to stay here, do you understand?"

Zant had no problem with being banished. He didn't care about his reputation, or how he and his family lived. He would've been living for no one, but that was before he had met Midna. She was the only one Zant cared about enough to stay, because she would be the only one who would care if he left. In fact, she would be heartbroken. When Zant thought about this, he knew he must stay in the presence of the royal family, even if it meant holding his tongue.

Slowly, Zant nodded, and his voice returned to its default, robotic tone. "Yes, father."


End file.
